Discovery Museum grand opening this weekend

Tuesday

With the grand opening of the newly renovated and expanded Discovery Museum this coming weekend, Neil Gordon, the museum's chief executive officer, is taking stock of their message.

“I think the message of it is that every kid is naturally a scientist," said Gordon. "That they’re creative, they’re curious, they know how to explore, how to experiment, how to try things out and we’re giving them the chance to do that in an endlessly open-ended way."

Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4, the Discovery Museum will reveal its new building and new exhibits, the result of a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign. And as a thank you to the community, kids under 12 will be admitted free this weekend.

The original goal was $8.4 million. Gordon said they surpassed that amount, raising $8.8 million. The project began with a site reconfiguration completed in 2016, the construction of Discovery Woods, and the outdoor nature play area, and culminated in combining the museum's two buildings into one large building, effectively doubling the size of the place to 15,000 square feet. The remainder of the money will be used to create a bit of an operational reserve.

Product of community

According to Gordon, the museum is a reflection of the host community.

"You know," Gordon said, "a museum like the Discovery Museum is really a product of its community. And we’re not successful without the community stepping up to help us."

Gordon said the $8.8 million raised was because of the community support and belief in the what the museum has been doing for the last 35 years.

Old and new

People visiting the renovated museum, Gordon said, will see a well-designed, re-imagined new space. But they will also see many of the reminders -- exhibits and experiences -- of what made the museum special.

"I think it’s all going to be really incredible," said Gordon.

Gordon said the museum will boast plenty of new exhibits. For example, he said there is going to be a space for children from birth to age three and their parents and caregivers called Brain Building Together.

"It really celebrates the simple things parents can do to support early brain development in their kids," said Gordon.

Gordon said the space was set up not only to let kids explore and learn in a safe environment, but it was a way for parents of kids with similar ages to meet up and basically form a community of their own. New staff has been hire that have more a little bit ore expertise in areas of early childhood development. Another new exhibit was called da Vinci Workshop where kids can tinker and create and invent.

But, Gordon said, people will also recognize some old favorites. Bessie, the dinosaur outside of the original children's museum house will still be a part of the museum. And so will her house.

"We’ve recreated the facade of Bessie’s House inside of our new building," said Gordon.

Inside that facade, which will have an miniature Bessie, will be some old re-imagined exhibits such as Bessie’s Diner, the Train Room, Backyard at Night, and the Ship Room.

Accessibility for all

Gordon said the new building design and more space will help the museum do a better job of accommodating visitors with various special needs. ADA compliance, he said, is a part of that and the museum will measure its success by seeing to it that all kids, whether they may have a physical disability, or hearing loss, or other kind of disability may feel safe and comfortable.

It also means accessibility from a financial standpoint too. Gordon said the museum was very proud of the fact that last year, approximately 26-percent of the visitors either came for free, or were very highly subsidized. That number, Gordon said, has doubled over the last half-dozen or so years.

"And it’s a number we’re continued to growing," Gordon said.

More information about this weekend's grand opening may be found at: discoverymuseums.org/